Two Breton Girls by the Sea

After his short stay with van Gogh in Arles, Gauguin once again chose Brittany as the site of his work during 1889 and 1890. Two Breton Girls by the Sea is one of the best examples of this period, and its use of bright red, green, and blue pigments speaks of the creation of his Cloisonnism, a style characterized by distinctive outlines, that became his signature. This work was created in the Brittany town of Le Pouldu during the autumn of 1889 and depicts two young girls wearing the clothing of the region. A preparatory sketch drawn in pastels showing only the two figures is currently in a private collection in London. Here, the large-scale completed composition brings the forms of these two girls to the very edge of the image's front left. It also employs a flat application of pigments, which was undoubtedly a revolutionary form for the period. Gauguin took this style one step further after his 1891 departure for Tahiti.

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